Sorry, I should have said Pu238
On Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 5:52 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > In reply to Axil Axil's message of Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:24:23 -0400: > Hi, > [snip] > >U232 is highly dangerous stuff. It has an alpha activity that is 10 times > >that of U238 which is itself also very dangerous. > > The half life of U232 is 69 years, That of U238 is 4.47 billion years. > U232 is 65 million times more active than U238. > > > > >If U232 gets into the air as particles, the particles pop around in the > air > >like little jets propelled by its own intense alpha activity and it tends > >to break apart into smaller particles. It is very deadly stuff. > > > >The experimenter must have taken great pains to contain the U232 to > protect > >his life. > > I agree that they should, however that's no guarantee that it was done. > > > > >No doubt, the experiment must have been sealed. > >Also, the alpha activity would blow off U232 from any type of fixation on > >the gold particles. This intense alpha activity would also keep it > >suspended in solution. > > The experiment that produced the strongest results, only lasted for 1 hour. > During that time only about 1 part in 1 million of the U232 would decay. > IOW almost none of it. Therefore decay would make no measurable difference > to > the amount of U232 sticking to gold nano-particles and falling to the > bottom. > > A gold nano particle with a radius of 10nm would only acquire 0.4 eV of > kinetic > energy from the decay of a U232 atom attached to it's surface. This isn't > enough > to dislodge any other U232's that may be attached to it. > > > > > >It also pumps out prodigious levels of gamma radiation. > > Some yes, but most of the energy in alpha decay reactions is carried by the > alpha particle, and most of the gamma & x-rays produced are low energy (see > http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/decaysearchdirect.jsp?nuc=232U&unc=nds) > so moving the active substance to the bottom of the container, thereby > increasing the separation distance from the detector, would reduce the > count. > > In short this potential error can by no means be ruled out. > Regards, > > Robin van Spaandonk > > http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html > >
